CAN 2025: Habib Beye shocked by FIFA's decision on player release | OneFootball

Habib Beye

Former Senegal international Habib Beye is not surprised by FIFA's decision to set December 15 as the date by which clubs must release their players.

From December 21 to January 18, the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations will take place in Morocco. The tournament involves a significant number of Ligue 1 players, who will be required to leave their clubs and join their national teams in Morocco. The first controversy has already erupted, as the European Club Association (ECA) succeeded in persuading FIFA to push back the release of African internationals to December 15, instead of the original December 8.

A decision that hasn't pleased everyone, including Habib Beye. "It's unacceptable that this information comes so late to coaches and federations involved in such an important competition, when dates had already been agreed, preparations made, and hotels booked," said the Stade Rennais coach at a press conference.

A CAN 2002 finalist with Senegal, the former full-back expressed particular outrage at what he sees as a lack of respect for the tournament and African teams: "I'm on the same page as my fellow club coaches: I have my players until December 15, and as Rennes coach, I'm glad to have them, but you also have to look at it from the other side. I'm not surprised by what's happening, this interference that seeks to minimize the competition—it's happened before... I've lived through it. The CAN was scheduled at this time because of the Club World Cup, and everyone has known the dates for a long time. If we had been asked to release our players on December 8, we would have done it. We're one of the clubs that put no pressure on any federation to keep our players."